Excerpt from Deception

Deception
Lanyon For Hire, 5
By John Paulits
Science Fiction/Space Opera
$1.99
Amazon: https://goo.gl/7swsNV
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When a shipment of rators, goes missing, Lanyon is hired to find them and stop the Tellurians from using the powerful weapons.

Excerpt

Lanyon swept his gaze along the street before focusing on Jophena, who slowly looked left and right. Suddenly, she jumped back.

“I see them. Both of them. Come here, I’ll show you.”

Jophena peered into the window again while Lanyon stretched out above her.

“The…one…two…second table from the wall at the end of the bar. One man is wearing the green and brown, and the other is wearing the purple and blue.”

Lanyon located the two men Jophena indicated. “Okay, I see them. Get back.” Jophena stepped away from the window. “You said they had a room on the second floor?”

“Two rooms in an apartment. It has to be upstairs here.” Jophena pointed upward. “I told you. I heard them twice mention going downstairs to Ruar’s.”

“Would you recognize where they kept you if you saw it again?”

“Yes! I was in one room on a bed with a smelly, blue cover. Ich! It was disgusting. The room where they stayed had two chairs and a table and regular stuff…a place for food packs and water. Some of their clothes were lying around. Very sloppy people.”

Lanyon went back to the window and peeked inside. The two men sat, laughing heartily over something. Both men lifted their glasses and downed their drinks. Lanyon watched to see whether they would reorder. Lanyon detected a good-natured dispute over ending their evening or having one more drink. One man indicated to the other that the next drink would have to be the last, and they reached a jovial agreement. Lanyon moved back to Jophena.

“They’re having their last drink. Let’s see if you can find where they kept you.”

“They took me out the back way. We have to go around.”

Jophena led Lanyon to the end of the block. They turned right, and when they reached the dark space behind the buildings, turned right again, Lanyon now leading led the way and Jophena clinging tightly to his arm.

“I counted twelve buildings,” Jophena whispered.

“Good girl.” Lanyon hadn’t thought to do that.

A moment later Jophena said, “There. I remember one of those men tripped over a can, and he kicked it like the can tripped him on purpose. The room should be right at the top of those stairs.”

The stairway was too narrow for Lanyon and Jophena to go abreast, so Lanyon stepped ahead and reached back. Jophena took his hand as they climbed the stairs.